Wednesday, July 22, 2009

You Gotta Watch This...

13 comments:

I hate to admit I could not watch the whole thing I was bored and felt a little sickened by it. Yes, I get it, the fashion industry suffers if we keep wearing white tees over and over but the message just made me sort of sick and had the opposite effect on me than they wanted it to have. The underlying materialism of it made me want to shop my closet and not the stores. People aren't shopping to punish the designers. People aren't shopping because they can't afford to. I could say more but I am feeling shy because I am the first one in the pool.p.s. I feel like I shouldn't judge the video because I didn't watch the whole thing and so feel free to ignore what I said. But, I just couldn't force myself to watch anymore. p.s.s. I am not a fashion blogger or a fashionista(making myself laugh just at the idea of it)and I don't follow fashion. I like clothes and I like people and I like to see what the people I like like to wear. So I am not the demographic for this video. I'll be curious to see what others think of it.

Bel: I am totally on your wavelength and I did watch the whole thing! I think it's very interesting that our blogging peers have been co-opted in this way. I also think it's very well produced and intriguing. And they are very charming. But I can't get with this "spend your money - save the industry". I think you either have the money and the interest or you don't. People shouldn't be encouraging consumption simply because it suits the industry. Just my opinion FYI.

I agree completely with Belette. I didn't finish watching either. I could tell the direction they were going in exactly one second. I hate to be all down on everyone and I sort of get why fashion bloggers jumped on this bandwagon: if there were no designers/new fashion, there would be nothing for fashion bloggers to write about. I don't know who the intended audience was supposed to be but I have never bought anything even remotely close to the designers they were naming. Chanel, LaCroix, Westwood, Blahnik? They might well have said Van Gogh, Picasso and Vermeer.

P.S. the production value was lacking. The audio sucked. My 15 year old nephew has posted better stuff on YouTube.

Interesting that shopping equates to designers. Designers go out of business all the time. My thoughts: hey, they had a great ride.

I keep an eye on fashion trends just to know what the drift is and to avoid whatever the It trends are. I don't analyze it, but I don't like wearing the same exact thing as everyone else. Strangely, I can pull that off shopping at mass marketers. Ideally, I would love it if women's fashion were like men's traditional styles where it was possible to purchase uniform looks that altered very slowly over decades. Then, like most men, shopping would just be replacing. I shop a lot of thrift, too. I tend to look at designer clothing as what not to wear. Not that anyone in my neighborhood is wearing it and hardly anyone could recognize it. More urban hip hop here. Though I was shocked when, a few years ago I was routinely carrying a quilted tote bag that I got at a thrift store for a quarter and little children would shout designer names at me from across the street. One of the parents of the kids at the afterschool program I ran would always greet me with "I want that bag, Miss Vildy."

I'm obviously not their demographic. I thought the whole thing was abrasive. I didn't recognize any of those bloggers but one, whose blog I don't read anymore.

I agree with Belette in that I couldn't watch the whole thing and it actually made me quite uncomfortable. I get what they are saying, but if anything they turned me off to shoppnig. I am not really a fashionista either although I do follow fashion to some extent; I look at the collections for inspiration, for ideals, but I really think most of it is so out of touch with reality that I don't think about it on a daily basis. I don't fault the fashion industry for this. There have always been people who can afford luxury and don't need to worry about practicalities in dress (Marie Antoinette anyone). But fashion and style come and go, as do the designers who create it.

I do like clothes and I like watching what people wear and how, but I somehow felt put off by the "spend your money, save the industry" message. People have not stopped spending to hurt fashion but because they don't have money or they are frightened and worried. I don't object to the designer emphasis because I have bought a designer thing or two in my time, but not because it was "so and so" more because I loved it, admired it and it was perfect. I was lucky to be able to do so. But I don't think the world will be a dark place if any one or all of them disappear. It is not the job of the consumer to save the industry but the job of the industry to meet the needs of their clientele.

Oooh, Tessa: Great comment. I didn't see where it was going (and I didn't read the precis) till quite far along. Not so perceptive of me!

Raven: I totally agree that they should have cut to the chase. It's almost like all the bloggers needed to get equal face time (and lots of it). Not suggesting that was their idea.

Vildy: I share so many of your thoughts. I too buy mostly mass market (diffusion) stuff and it manages to look quite "on trend" - not that I'm trying to look trendy. And I shop vintage and it gives me great quality that's stood the test of time for a fraction of the cost. Designers really have had an unrealistic share of the market the last few years!

Mardel: Love that! It is the job of the industry to meet our needs. I can't help but to feel that the bloggers were unwittingly used.

Sal: Smart and succinct!

Maegan: I know. It was the part where they dressed up that I liked. I thought that visual metaphor was about the only powerful element of the sell.

As someone who has written/directed/produced a few videos for the web, I totally agree - way too long, and what's up with the horrible sound? Get a writer and a sound guy. And a decent editor. (Did they not want to pay professionals? Saving money to go shopping, maybe?) The switch to color was a good concept, but I suspect most viewers stopped watching way before that happened.

Okay - sorry to geek out about the production values.

As for the message - I totally agree with everyone else. "You gotta shop?" Uh - no - I gotta pay my mortgage and my health insurance, my utility bill, and buy food. Fashion is a luxury. Isn't that how we got into this trouble in the first place? People aspiring to the whole Hollywood/My Sweet 16/more more more lifestyle?

doll: Maybe they were trying to make it seem more "grass roots" and blogger-inspired than "marketed" and industry created? I think your point about paying mortgage etc. is so on the mark. Fashion is a luxury. Thanks for your great comment!

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Form/Function. Line/Curve. Safe/Risk. Art/Craft. Body/Mind.
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